Dr. Mueller; The Council of Ballaarat East; Robert Watson,
Esquire; John Lavington Evans, Esquire
Meeting at Totnes.
Resolution to erect a Monument to Mr. Wills.
Proceedings in the Royal Geographical Society of London.
Letter from Sir Roderick Murchison to Dr. Wills.
Dr. Wills's Reply.
The Lost Explorers, a poetical tribute.
Concluding Observations.

As soon as my son's death became publicly known, and there could no
longer be a doubt on the subject, letters of condolence and
sympathy poured in upon me from many quarters. From these I select
a few as indicating the general impression produced by his untimely
fate, and the estimation in which he was held by those who were
personally acquainted with him. The afflicting event was
communicated to his mother in Totnes, Devon, by a telegram a
fortnight before the regular mail, accompanied by the following
letter from Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of Victoria:--

Government Office, Melbourne, November 26th, 1861.

DEAR MADAM,

Though you will hear of the bereavement which has befallen you
inthe loss of your gallant son from those that are near and dear
both to you and to himself, I cannot refrain, in the position I
have the honour to hold, from adding my assurance of the sympathy
of the entire community with your grief, and the universal
admiration of his abilities as displayed throughout the expedition,
and which his noble and heroic conduct to the last hour of his life
have inspired.

You may rely upon it that the name of William John Wills will go
down to posterity, both at home and in this colony, amongst the
brightest of those who have sacrificed their lives for the
advancement of scientific knowledge and the good of their
fellow-creatures.

Believe me, dear Madam,

Yours very respectfully,

(Signed) HENRY BARKLY,

Governor of Victoria.

Mrs. Wills, Totnes, Devon.

. . .

Sir Henry also moved in the committee and the motion was
carried nemine contradicente, that from the important part Mr. Wills
had taken, the expedition should be called, "The Burke and Wills
exploring Expedition." Some spiteful remarks by opposite partisans
were made in the Melbourne Argus on this very natural and
complimentary resolution. An advocate on one side said, "If the
expedition had failed would it have been called the Burke and Wills
Expedition?--We opine not." To which another replied the following
day, in the same columns, "Would the expedition have succeeded if
Wills